=== modified file 'src/com/goldencode/harness/test/TestFactory.java'
--- old/src/com/goldencode/harness/test/TestFactory.java	2025-01-30 18:11:51 +0000
+++ new/src/com/goldencode/harness/test/TestFactory.java	2025-04-23 08:33:50 +0000
@@ -798,6 +798,9 @@
          // option 1: read the screen region from a file
          fname = elem.getAttribute(ATTR_FILENAME);
          
+         // get encoding
+         String encoding  = elem.getAttribute(ATTR_ENCODING);
+         
          // honor search paths
          fname = index.findBaseLine(fname);
          
@@ -809,8 +812,11 @@
             {
                try
                {
-                  FileReader     fr = new FileReader(screen);
-                  BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr);
+                  InputStream       fis = new FileInputStream(screen);
+                  InputStreamReader fr = encoding == null ? 
+                                                     new InputStreamReader(fis) :
+                                                     new InputStreamReader(fis, encoding); 
+                  BufferedReader    br = new BufferedReader(fr);
                   
                   line = br.readLine();
                   int yIdx = 0;
@@ -826,7 +832,7 @@
                      yIdx++;
                      line = br.readLine();
                   }
-                  
+                  br.close();
                   found = true;
                }